Monday, November 11, 2013

Vodka Pie Dough with a Food Processor Video

I am starting a pie/tart dough video series to get my dear readers ready for Thanksgiving. If you have a food processor with 7-cup capacity or larger, it’s the best way to make dough. If not, hang tight till next week and I’ll post a video for making the dough by hand.

Process 7.5 oz flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 one-second pulses (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour).

In a large bowl, measure 5 oz flour (1 cup). Add the butter flour mixture from the food processor to this bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until no more flour streaks remain.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. Mix with a large spoon until no more loose liquid remains. Remove half the dough out of the bowl. Squeeze the dough remaining in the bowl together to form a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic. Move the second half of dough back into the bowl, squeeze into a disk and wrap.

Refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. The dough can also be frozen for several months (wrapped tightly in plastic and placed in a freezer bag).

5 comments:

Helen, I just made several batches of this dough for my Thanksgiving pies! I have tried Kenji's method and done lots of comparisons, and in the end I think this is just the easiest, most fool-proof way to go. I've never used the vodka though! I usually use my hands (or more precisely fingertips) to toss everything together in the 2 steps after the dough goes into the bowl. That way I can easily feel if I have enough liquid. Then I dump the crumbs of dough onto the countertop, separate into 2 piles, and firmly squish them into disks without much kneading. Anyway, there's my 2 cents. Have a very happy Thanksgiving. I will be thinking of you as I enjoy PIE (my very favorite dessert!)

I'll be thinking of you on Thanksgiving too! Hope you are well. Can you say more about what you have tried and how it worked. If you haven't used vodka, which part of Kenji's method have you tried -- separating flour into 2 parts? You mention that you use your hands to judge whether you have enough liquid. I believe that only works for experienced bakers. I've never met a newbie who can judge anything when it comes to baking.